Scheduling Successful Employer Information Sessions
With more than 300 information sessions being conducted throughout the year, the majority of which are in the fall semester, there is a great deal of competition for student attention. A typical night in the fall may include up to 12 presentations by organizations recruiting Penn students. Planning an event that is appropriate for your firm's hiring needs and presence on campus is the best road to success. You may want to discuss your plans with the Recruiting Managers:

Companies A-J:
Marlene Cohen, marcohen@upenn.edu, 215-898-4379

Companies K-Z:
Debra Smiley Koita, smiley@upenn.edu, 215-898-3219

We strongly recommend that, wherever possible, your organization schedule one session representing the different functions for which you are hiring rather than a separate session for each function or division. If this is your first visit to Penn, or if your firm might be less well known on this campus, you should consider attending our fall corporate career fair, Career Link, which attracted over 1,400 students in 2007. To promote engineering and technical opportunities, you should attend the fall Engineering Career Day, which attracted over 1,500 students in 2007. These events will enhance your visibility on campus tremendously. For more information about Career Link, contact Barbara Hewitt at (215) 898-7533; for information about Engineering Career Awareness Day, contact Rosette Pyne at (215) 898-7590.

• Policies & Procedures (including location information & important dates)
• Suggestions for Effective Information Sessions
• Publicity & Marketing
• Scheduling a Presentation or Info Session
• Guidelines for Arranging Audiovisual Support - Catering - Shipment of Materials

Policies & Procedures

Due to the limited number of large rooms (seating 80 or more) in the Wharton School, it cannot be guaranteed that you will receive a room once requests are processed. To avoid this situation, you may wish to consider another facility for large presentations. See the links to the venues suggested by our office:

• Engineering School
• Inn at Penn
• Perelman Quadrangle (includes Houston and Logan Hall, Irvine Auditorium)
• University City Sheraton
• Wharton School

We ask all organizations - regardless of where your information session will be held - to adhere to this process and these guidelines.  It is imperative that we be aware of all of your recruiting activities so that we may advertise them to our student body, facilitate your visit and assist, wherever possible, in avoiding scheduling conflicts.  In addition, our office can publicize [on our online Presentations Calendar] any event you arrange on your own, if it does not conflict with already scheduled presentations.  For maximum exposure, please schedule through us. 

The first available information session date is Wednesday, September 3, 2008.  Sessions that are "Open to All" MUST be scheduled at one of the following times:

You may hold a reception after your formal presentation, but we ask that you limit your formal presentation to the above times to eliminate overlapping programs. Presentations are generally held Monday through Thursday. However, some Friday dates are also available. Sunday "Night Before the Interview" presentations are also scheduled. 

In planning your request, we suggest you keep in mind the following 2008-2009 vacations/holidays:

Fall Classes Begin	Sept. 3	Thanksgiving Break	Nov. 26 - Dec 1
Rosh Hashanah	Sept. 29-30	Fall Classes End	Dec. 5
Yom Kippur	Oct. 8-9	Spring Classes Begin	Jan. 14
Fall Break	Oct. 11-14	Spring Break	Mar. 6-16
Homecoming	Nov. 1	Spring Classes End	April 28

Suggestions for Effective Information Sessions

• Keep the formal part of the presentation brief.  Students prefer more time for questions and interaction.
• Bring a variety of actual employees to talk to the students, particularly younger alumni. One-to-one and small group discussions are the most valued part of the presentations.
• Include detailed descriptions of the company and the positions for which you are recruiting. Descriptions of actual job opportunities, day-to-day activities and responsibilities are of great interest to students.
• Topic-related sessions (e.g., "The Role of the Banking Analyst" and "Case Interviewing Workshop") are quite popular. It is not necessary to host a general information session AND a topic-related session, although you may choose to do so.
• Discuss the recruiting process and timeline, including an overview of the number of interview rounds and what generally takes place, with practical tips for being a successful candidate.

Publicity & Marketing

• Advertise your session in The Daily Pennsylvanian, the student newspaper.  Ads placed a few days before and on the day of the presentation seem to get the most response.  Because fewer students have classes on Friday, advertising on earlier weekdays is most effective.  According to students, this is the most popular method of advertising.
• Your presentation will be publicized on-line in both the Univeristy-wide calendar and is also linked to your interview schedule if you are interviewing on campus using PennLink. This advertising is only done if your presentation was coordinated through the On-Campus Recruiting office.
• If you are specifically targeting Wharton students, you may have fliers and other materials stuffed in their mail folders.  A professional business fraternity, Delta Sigma Pi, operates as a non-profit service for on-campus recruiters and can assist with this form of publicity.  Contact Corporate Advertising Services at 626-319-4013 or at Sales@CorpAdServices.com) for details. You might also want to advertise in the Undergraduate Focus section of The Wharton Journal, which is a student newspaper for the Wharton community, (215) 898-3200.
• If you are having an information session the Night Before your interviews, it is very strongly suggested that you telephone or email all students on your schedules to invite them to attend - otherwise, they might think it is an optional event.

Scheduling an Information Session

Information Sessions are coordinated by Recruiting Managers; Marlene Cohen (companies A-J) and Debra Koita (companies K-Z). Requests to schedule presentations during the 2008-2009 Academic Term will be accepted on-line in PennLink (not over the telephone or via email) starting at 12 noon est. on Wednesday, April 16, 2008 for Pathways advertisers and corporate donors. All other employers may submit their requests starting Wednesday, May 14, 2008 at 12 noon est. Please carefully review the Guidelines for Scheduling an Information Session to secure an event time and location. The only requests that will be processed are those submitted on the Information Sessions Scheduling form in PennLink.

• Log-in to PennLink, click the "Request New Information Session" link.

Please review the guidelines carefully to ensure that your request is processed as quickly and efficiently as possible.

 

Guidelines for Arranging Audiovisual Support - Catering - Shipment of Materials

Please check your confirmation letter for the location of your event. Each venue has different procedures for making audiovisual, catering and shipping arrangements, which are outlined below.

On-Campus Recruiting does not accept shipped materials - we do not have the personnel to deliver the materials, nor do we have the space to store them. Please see specific instructions for your venue.

WHARTON SCHOOLS (Steinberg-Dietrich and Jon M. Huntsman Halls)
Questions: Contact On-Campus Recruiting at (215) 898-3219 OR 898-4379

Audiovisual:	All Wharton classrooms are equipped with an overhead projector and screen. A student or staff person will meet you in the room to help you log into the system and set up your laptop or thumb drive and any other technology needs you may have.  NOTE:  Please be sure to bring a back-up of your presentation.
Catering:	Catering in the Wharton School Building is limited to pizza, cookies, fruit and soda. There are no extra tables or chairs to accommodate large amounts of food. Most rooms are fixed classroom style seating. Please see the bottom of this form for the approved caterers list.
Shipping materials:	The OCR staff will be unable to receive materials for your presentations. If you have materials you wish to ship in advance of your presentation, you should make arrangements with Corporate Advertising Services (CorpAdServices@wharton.upenn.edu) or 626-319-4013, who will accept your materials and deliver them to your event. Please NOTE: The Wharton facilites will not be responsible for any materials left in the classrooms. Any extra materials left in the rooms will be discarded at the end of the night.

ENGINEERING SCHOOLS (Towne, Levine or Skirkanich Halls)
Questions: Contact On-Campus Recruiting at (215) 898-3219 OR 898-4379

Audiovisual:	All Engineering classrooms are equipped with an overhead projector and screen. A student or staff person will meet you in the room to help you log into the system and set up your laptop or thumb drive and any other technology needs you may have.  NOTE:  Please be sure to bring a back-up of your presentation.
Catering:	Catering is allowed on limited and requested bases in the lobbies of both Levine and Skirkanich Hall auditoriums. Please refer to the Approved Caterers listed below. In addition, food and drink are not allowed in the classrooms.
Shipping materials:	The OCR staff will be unable to receive materials for your presentations. If you have materials, you wish to ship in advance of your presentation, you should make arrangements with Corporate Advertising Services (CorpAdServices@wharton.upenn.edu) or 626-319-4013, which will accept your materials and deliver them to your event.

INN AT PENN
Bernice Simpson, Director of Catering (215) 823-6203

Audiovisual:	All audiovisual and equipment needs should be arranged for directly with the event planning staff at the Inn at Penn. Computer equipment, microphones, screens, Internet access, slide projectors, VCRs, and so on, are available.
Catering:	All catering arrangements should be made directly with the event planning staff at the Inn at Penn.
Shipping materials:	The OCR staff will be unable to receive materials for your presentations. If you have materials you wish to ship in advance of your presentation, contact the event planning staff at the Inn at Penn, who can provide you with complete address and shipping information.

PERELMAN QUAD (includes Houston Hall, Logan Hall and Irvine Auditorium)
ask for Facilities Coordinators (215) 898-5552, www.vpul.upenn.edu/perelmanquad

Audiovisual:	Audiovisual support is available (typically overhead projector, TV/VCR, computer projection), but may vary from room to room. Please contact Perelman Quad Events Office at 215-898-5552 to discuss arrangements.
Catering:	All catering arrangements for Perelman Quad should be made with Perelman Quad Catering at (215) 573-8633 or 0830 or by email at alrans@pobox.upenn.edu.
Shipping materials:	The OCR staff will be unable to receive materials for your presentations. If you have materials you wish to ship in advance of your presentation, you should make arrangements with Corporate Advertising Services 626-319-4013 or at (CorpAdServices@wharton.upenn.edu), who will accept your materials and deliver them to your event.

SHERATON - UNIVERSITY CITY
Mike Baldino 215-387-800 ext. 631 or Elizabeth Ballistreri (215) 387-8000 ext. 673

Audiovisual:	All audiovisual and equipment needs should be arranged for directly with the event planning staff at the Sheraton. Computer equipment, microphones, screens, slide projectors, VCRs, and so on, are available.
Catering:	All catering arrangements should be made directly with the event planning staff at the Sheraton.
Shipping materials:	If you have materials you wish to ship in advance of your presentation, contact the event planning staff at the Sheraton, who can provide you with complete address and shipping information.

 

APPROVED CATERERS:

• Abbraccio (formerly The Palladium) - (215) 727-8247
• Philadelphia Catering Co. - (215) 387-6644
• Papa John’s Pizza - (215) 349-7272

SHIPPING MATERIALS & POSTING FLIERS:

Corporate Advertising Services 626-319-4013

(Please contact Corporate Advertising directly CorpAdServices@wharton.upenn.edu for employer services such as shipping materials, posting fliers on campus, and mail folder stuffing .)